La Uva De Plasma

Saint Mary High School
Science Department
Science fair Project

PLASMA
PLASMA



Gallón Gonzales Jorge
Herrera Luis Diego
Mena Sebastián
Ramírez Ortega Angelo
Section 7-A



San José Costa Rica, March 2012The Plasma Grape 3
Introduction 3
Problem 3
Justification 3
Hypothesis 3
Objectives 3
Theorical Framework 4
Electrolytes 4
Electrochemistry 4
Ions 6
Characteristics 6
Grapes 7
Conduction of electricity 7
Microwaves 7
Plasma 8
Degree of ionization 9
Plasma globes 9
Blood plasma 10
Solar Plasma 12
The sun 12
The Corona 12
Solar wind 13
Aurora 13

ThePlasma Grape
Introduction
Problem
Is it possible to create plasma with microwaves and a seedless grape?
Justification
The theme of plasma and how to create it with a seedless grape looked interesting and educative at first it was like “Wow a grape can produce plasma this is just a joke made by someone”, but after researching about the theme it all had sense and a scientific logic.
HypothesisIt is known that the liquid in the grapes is rich in electrolytes, which are ion-rich that means the grapes are capable to conduct electricity and with some help from the microwaves reproduce plasma.
Objectives
At first it started with a grape, but now it got even deeper into the research of plasma the ways to create it and what it can do. The main objective is to research about plasma but, asub-branch of the project lead to the creation of plasma with a grape.

Theorical Framework
Electrolytes
An electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive. The most typical electrolyte is an ionic solution, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible. Commonly, electrolytes are solutions of acids, bases or salts.Furthermore, some gases may act as electrolytes under conditions of high temperature or low pressure.
Electrolyte solutions are normally formed when a salt is placed into a solvent such as water and the individual components dissociate due to the thermodynamic interactions between solvent and solute molecules, in a process called solvation. For example, when table salt, NaCl, is placed in water, thesalt (a solid) dissolves into its component ions, according to the dissociation reaction
NaCl(s) → Na+(aq) + Cl−(aq)
It is also possible for substances to react with water producing ions, e.g., carbon dioxide gas dissolves in water to produce a solution which contains hydronium, carbonate, and hydrogen carbonate ions.
Electrochemistry
When electrodes are placed in an electrolyte and a voltage isapplied, the electrolyte will conduct electricity. Lone electrons normally cannot pass through the electrolyte; instead, a chemical reaction occurs at the cathode consuming electrons from the anode. Another reaction occurs at the anode, producing electrons that are eventually transferred to the cathode. As a result, a negative charge cloud develops in the electrolyte around the cathode, and apositive charge develops around the anode. The ions in the electrolyte neutralize these charges, enabling the electrons to keep flowing and the reactions to continue.
For example, in a solution of ordinary table salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) in water, the cathode reaction will be
2H2O + 2e− → 2OH− + H2
and hydrogen gas will bubble up; the anode reaction is
2NaCl → 2 Na+ + Cl2 + 2e−
and chlorinegas will be liberated. The positively charged sodium ions Na+ will react towards the cathode neutralizing the negative charge of OH− there, and the negatively charged hydroxide ions OH− will react towards the anode neutralizing the positive charge of Na+ there. Without the ions from the electrolyte, the charges around the electrode would slow down continued electron flow; diffusion of H+ and OH−...